Chongo was dead tired by the time he got back to his office. More than that he was hungry! Chicago hotdogs might be the best but they don't last forever especially after completing the roof circuit. Chongo checked his office door carefully before opening it. No need to get careless. No wires, no problems, this time. He crossed the office to his "new" old mahogany desk. Chongo had picked it up at an estate sale. New was in and no-one wanted such a mahogany monster anymore, no-one except Chongo who was a little tired of being shot at and blown up. The mahogany was heavy and solid, bullet proof and with a little bit of plate steel and some screws it was a decent bomb shelter. Chongo hoped fervently that he never actually needed it. He felt the heavily padded leather chair and longed to sink into it. If it hadn't been for his stomache talking to him he would have probably would have, greatfully and awoken in it the next morning. "It wouldn't be the first time," he thought.

Instead Chongo crossed to the kitchen and peered into the ice box. Damn! Empty again! "Honestly!" he thought, "I've got the bread to buy the cabbage, now if I'd only taken the time!" Slamming the door he turned away towards the bathroom. "Gotta freshen up if I'm gonna go out and not attract attention." Feeling a little better Chongo put on his overcoat and hat checked the load in his .45 and turned out into the night

A few blocks down the street was a late night diner where he knew he wouldn't have to worry about trouble. Jackie, the waitress, might not be pretty, but she could deal with a drunk gorilla in a heartbeat. She was a kindred spirit although Chongo hadn't worked up the nerve to ask where those bulging biceps had been and what they'd been doing before she found work at the diner. Chongo sat down and ordered a cup of coffee and a ham on rye with chips, dill slice on the side. Jackie brought the coffee while he waited for the rest to arrive and began cleaning glasses. Chongo wasn't actually used to brightly lit, clean places. "Ah, the life I've chosen," he thought darkly. His sandwich and chips arrived while he was still studying the diner. As Chongo reached down to get his first bite he heard the door to the diner open, the little bell ringing cheerily. The next thing he knew he had bluesuits on wither side of him.

There was a hand on his arm as he reached into his coat for his .45. It took him a moment to identify the first man although the second remained unknown to him. Jackie shot a glance at Chongo, but Chongo waved her off.
"Evening, Dickie," Chongo said, "who let you out of your cage?"
"Smart mouth, chump. Too bad you ain't got the brains to keep it shut."
"Now, now Dickie, I thought we were friends, all in this together like," Chongo said, nonplussed. Dickie's face turned beet red. "Friends with a damn dirty ape like you?!" "Not likely and don't you ever say that again!"
"Well, if you ain't here to join me for dinner, what are you here for?"
"I just wanted to let you know that you can forget this case, furball. I finally got the job that shoulda been mine in the first place and Me and my boys are gonna put it to rest. Not you or any other primate! I twas a good thing theat the man couldn't tell emotions in a chimp's eyes or he'd have run shouting Bundalo! at the top of his voice. He didn't even know what kind of thin ice he was on. Chogno was tired of this treatment and come the day he was going to set things straight with this man personally. Chongo took a deep breath and said, "What about your boss? He already has me on a pretty good retainer."
"Just give it to me," Dickie smirked, "I'll tell him you reconsidered and put the money back in Uncle Sam's bank where it belongs."
"Not likely," Chongo parroted back at him, "One, I know too much already, you're not likely to let me stay free with that knowledge. And two, I don't back down. That's why your boss came to me in the first place. So if you'd kindly remove yourself from my sight before Jackie back there decides I need some help from her friend Mr. Thomson, I'd like to finish my dinner."
Both men visibly paled as they heard the bolt lock home and began moving as Jackie came out from the kitchen with the gun levelled at them.
"You've been warned hairball!" Dickie said over his shoulder as he reached for the door, "I promise you're going to regret this!"

Jackie put the gun on a shelf below the counter and went back to cleaning drinking glasses. Chongo finished his sandwich and coffee at a leisurley pace. Jackie found a sawbuck on the counter after he left. Jackie smiled and stuffed it into the top of her blouse. She enjoyed the weight and heft of the sub-maching gun and loved the stacatto rhythm when she got to use it, but good tips were always welcome.